Department of Chemistry
About
The Department of Chemistry is approved by the American Chemical Society.
Chair: Dustin Gross, Ph.D.
Contact Information: (936) 294-4067
Website: Department of Chemistry
Mission
The Department of Chemistry is committed to providing an educational environment conducive to scholarship, intellectual development, and the acquisition of a foundation of knowledge and techniques required of professional chemists. This goal requires the effective representation of the fundamental areas of chemistry, a dedicated and creative faculty, and support for the many functions of the department.
Academic Program
General Information
Advisory Committee
For students completing a thesis, a thesis advisor will be selected and the research project will begin in the first semester of graduate work. The student and the thesis director, with approval from the chair, will select two additional faculty members to serve on the thesis committee.
Period of Study
Students taking six to nine semester credit hours of coursework each long semester and three semester credit hours during summer sessions will typically finish their graduate program in two years. A minimum of three long semesters and one summer session is required. Registration for the research course will typically occur during the summer term.
Comprehensive Exam and Oral Thesis Defense
An oral presentation of the thesis to the faculty in a seminar format is required, and the thesis must be defended before the student's thesis committee. All graduate students are required to pass an oral comprehensive exam based on their coursework. The oral comprehensive exam is typically concurrent with the thesis defense. Once enrolled in a thesis class, a student must be continually enrolled until graduation.
Highlights
- Students work with Chemistry faculty on state-of-the-art research in the Chemistry and Forensic Science Building research laboratories.
- The Department of Chemistry recently purchased an X-ray diffractometer and continually looks for ways to improve and enhance their research equipment.
Assistantships
Most graduate students in the MS Chemistry programs are supported by a graduate assistantship, either serving as a lab assistant in a teaching lab for 20 hours per week or carrying our research on a faculty member's research grant. In addition, the department can often offer a summer research stipend.
Scholarships
Scholarships are available from the College of Science and Engineering Technology and from The Graduate and Professional School to support students’ studies. Please check the websites for the College and Graduate and Professional School for more information.
For more information about graduate student financial opportunities, please email the Department of Chemistry at chemistry@shsu.edu.
CHEM 5001. Independent Study in Chemistry. 1-3 Hours.
Students engage in individualized, independent study under faculty supervision, pursuing advanced topics in chemistry. Registration is on an individual basis and restricted to students in residence. Variable Credit (1–3).
Prerequisite: Approval of department chair.
CHEM 5100. Chemical Literature & Seminar. 1 Hour.
Students learn to navigate and interpret the chemical literature and prepare and present research-based seminar talks—either on current literature or on their own research—in a format consistent with American Chemical Society standards. Offered Fall and Spring.
CHEM 5361. Physical Organic Chemistry. 3 Hours.
Students analyze how molecular structure influences reactivity and the behavior of reactive intermediates, applying physical organic principles to interpret and predict structure–reactivity relationships.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Chemistry.
CHEM 5362. Organic Reaction Mechanisms. 3 Hours.
Students analyze and apply current models for mechanisms of organic reactions, survey the mechanisms of synthetically important transformations, and integrate familiarity with literature precedent and resources for locating literature examples. Students examine methods for determining reaction mechanisms and apply these approaches to individual reactions.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Chemistry.
CHEM 5367. Chemical Nano Sensing. 3 Hours.
Students learn to set up a conceptual and empirical framework for designing, validating, and using calibrated measurements of chemical abundance within the context of chemical nano sensing. Students employ this framework to examine instruments used to study, and sensors designed to make advantageous use of, nanoscale phenomena in diverse chemical sensing settings.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Chemistry.
CHEM 5368. Analytical Spectroscopy. 3 Hours.
Students examine the theory and applications of selected spectroscopic techniques commonly used in qualitative and quantitative analysis. Topics may include atomic and molecular spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, laser analytical methods, fluorescence, phosphorescence, and chemiluminescence. Students apply these techniques to solve environmental, atmospheric, and bioanalytical problems.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Chemistry.
CHEM 5372. Advanced Biochemistry I. 3 Hours.
Students examine the chemical structure, biological functions, and regulation of proteins, including enzymes, transport proteins, and structural proteins, and analyze protein biosynthesis and recombinant DNA technology.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Chemistry.
CHEM 5373. Drug and Toxin Biochemistry. 3 Hours.
Students examine biotransformations of drugs/toxins, mechanisms of drug interactions with biological systems, and selective toxicity. Students gain insight into the design of therapeutic agents and the destruction of harmful toxins/bacterial invaders in living systems. Attention is also given to how molecular structure is related to solubility and permeability and how to design systems for drug delivery within the human body.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Chemistry .
CHEM 5374. Chemistry of Coordination Compounds. 3 Hours.
Students examine the chemistry of metal-containing compounds, with emphasis on transition metal complexes, and analyze how electronic configurations in various bonding environments influence their chemical and physical properties.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Chemistry.
CHEM 5375. Organometallic Chemistry. 3 Hours.
Students examine organometallic chemistry with emphasis on structure and bonding, and analyze organometallic reaction mechanisms, advances in catalysis, carbene complexes, metathesis reactions, applications to organic synthesis, and cluster compounds.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Chemistry.
CHEM 5381. Advanced Physical and Chemical Thermodynamics. 3 Hours.
Students apply the principles of the three laws of thermodynamics, thermochemistry, and statistical thermodynamics to gases, solutions, mixtures, solids, and interfaces. .
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Chemistry.
CHEM 5382. Symmetry and Spectroscopy. 3 Hours.
Students examine quantum theory and symmetry in depth and apply these principles to interpret and predict spectroscopic data. Students analyze infrared, Raman, and electronic spectroscopic methods with advanced detail.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Chemistry.
CHEM 5385. Selected Topics in Advanced Chemistry. 3 Hours.
Students explore modern developments in a specific subdivision of chemistry—analytical, biochemistry, environmental, inorganic, organic, or physical—selected according to their individual needs and interests. Students may repeat the course for credit as long as each enrollment focuses on a different subdivisional field.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Chemistry.
CHEM 6099. Thesis. 1-3 Hours.
Students complete and successfully defend their Thesis. Students must have Thesis Prospectus approved prior to registering. Variable Credit (1 to 3). Course Equivalents: CHEM 6399 .
CHEM 6398. Graduate Research in Chemistry. 3 Hours.
Students carry out research under the direction of a faculty member.
Director/Chair: Dustin E Gross
Dustin E Gross, PHD, Professor of Chemistry and Chair of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, PHD, Univ of Texas At Austin; BS, Univ of Arizona
Donovan C Haines, PHD, Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, PHD, Wichita State University; BS, Wichita State University
Meagan Elizabeth Hinze, PHD, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, PHD, Cornell University; MS, Cornell University; BS, Butler University
Christopher Eugene Hobbs, PHD, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, PHD, Texas A&M University; BS, Angelo State University
Ilona Petrikovics, PHD, Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, PHD, Univ Debrecen Med & Health Sci; PHD, Kossuth Laos University; MSC, Univ Debrecen Med & Health Sci
Richard Neal Schaugaard, PHD, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, PHD, Indiana University; BS, Univ of Washington
David E Thompson, PHD, Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, PHD, Univ of Wisconsin-Madison; BA, Carleton College
Tarek Mohsen Trad, PHD, Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, PHD, Oklahoma State University; BS, Beirut Arab Univ
Adrian Villalta-Cerdas, PHD, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, PHD, Univ of South Florida; MA, Univ of South Florida; BS, Univ of Costa Rica
Darren Lee Williams, PHD, Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, PHD, Oregon State University; BS, Univ of Texas At Austin
Christopher M Zall, PHD, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, PHD, Univ of Minnesota-Twin Cities; MS, Univ of Minnesota-Twin Cities; BA, Carleton College
